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Unthinkable

Iran, the Bomb, and American Strategy

About The Book

The world’s foremost expert on Middle Eastern relations examines Iran’s current nuclear potential and charts America’s future course of action.

About The Author

Photograph by Paul Morigi

Kenneth Pollack is a well-known expert on the Middle East and Persian Gulf and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Charlie Rose, C-SPAN, and NPR. He is a senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. Dr. Pollack earned his BA from Yale and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of seven other books on the political, military, and economic affairs of the Middle East, including Unthinkable, The Threatening Storm and The Persian Puzzle.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 10, 2013)
  • Length: 560 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781476733944

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Raves and Reviews

“[A]n engrossing book…Mr. Pollack has produced an account that is mercifully free of swagger. If Congress gets a vote on going to war with Iran, let’s hope that this book is on everyone’s reading lists. It might just change a few minds.”

– The Economist

“Pollack has provided a useful briefing for anyone seeking to better understand what drives Iranian policy. Even more, he tackles the nature of the challenge the country poses to the United States. The book proves a valuable tool for pushing back on claims that containment is just a policy of surrender. In making the case here that containment is the worst possible strategy, except for all the others, Pollack has contributed to a smarter, more reality-based Iran policy debate.”

– American Prospect

"[T]he great strength of Unthinkable is that Pollack includes enough evidence for those who disagree with him to make their case. That is what makes his book not only informative, but an essential contribution to the debate."

– Joel B. Pollak, Breitbart.com

"Learned, lucid and deeply sobering."

– Kirkus

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